UFC 154 results: John Makdessi jabs and dodges his way past Sam Stout

MONTREAL – Baseball season is over, but John Makdessi gave Sam Stout a lesson in “small ball” on Saturday night.

While the powerful “Hands of Stone” Stout looked for the equivalent of home-run shots, Makdessi fed his fellow Canadian a steady diet of singles and doubles in the way of a heavy jab attack en route to a unanimous decision victory.

The lightweight bout was part of the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC 154 event at Bell Centre in Montreal. It aired on FX following additional prelims on Facebook and before a main card on pay-per-view.

Makdessi looked to establish his kick early, and that had Stout looking to land with big overhand rights that narrowly missed. When Stout came in and got slightly sloppy, Makdessi landed a good counter, then followed it with a stiff left jab that would set the tone. A couple minutes in, Stout landed a good right hand that popped Makdessi’s head back, and he followed by looking to go body-head. A Stout kick to Makdessi’s lead leg was answered by a good counter, and soon after Stout looked for a takedown that he backed away from when it was clear Makdessi would defend. Makdessi landed a spinning back kick and brought yet another jab right behind it, then another.

Makdessi opened the second with more jab establishment. Stout landed a good roundhouse kick and tried to follow it with a right, but Makdessi continued to work his jabs and short shots. Stout tried to come inside, and the two traded body shots before Makdessi answered with more peppered jabs. Stout tried to come inside with jabs of his own, but his biggest punches were continually just out of the reach of Makdessi’s chin as he ducked and dodged away. Stout wanted a takedown late, but Makdessi defended and ended the frame with a left hand.

Stout continued to be aggressive in the third, but Makdessi again was hard to find and again landed wonderfully with his counter-striking as he had done throughout the fight. Stout passed up Frankie Edgar for most significant strikes in UFC lightweight history, but it’s a stat that was academic when it came to Makdessi.

Makdessi, who trains at Montreal’s Tristar Gym, picked up the unanimous decision win with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27.

“I trained very hard for this fight,” Makdessi said. “It’s a roller-coaster ride of emotion, but I’m very happy to be here. I train and I fight, and I’m so thankful I can do that. I’ve been working on my wrestling and striking. Striking is second nature to me. My game plan was to counter and focus on my footwork. I saw him rushing and I knew he was getting desperate, so I played it smart. I feel very fortunate right now.”

Makdessi (10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) won in front of his Montreal home faithful and snapped a two-fight skid, likely saving his job in the UFC in the process. He hadn’t win since a spinning back fist knockout of Kyle Watson at UFC 129. Stout (19-8-1 MMA, 7-7 UFC) returns to the loss column after a June win over Spencer Fisher in the pair’s rubber match. At UFC 142 in January, he dropped a unanimous decision to Thiago Tavares.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.